Editing Cane toad (section)

==Taxonomy==
Historically, the cane toad was used to eradicate pests from [[sugarcane]], giving rise to its common name. The cane toad has many other common names, including "giant toad" and "marine toad"; the former refers to its size, and the latter to the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]], ''R. marina''. It was one of many species described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in his 18th-century work ''[[10th edition of Systema Naturae|Systema Naturae]]'' (1758).<ref name="Linnaeus1758p824">{{Harvnb|Linnaeus|1758|p=824}}</ref> Linnaeus based the [[specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]] ''marina'' on an illustration by Dutch zoologist [[Albertus Seba]], who mistakenly believed the cane toad to inhabit both terrestrial and marine environments.<ref name="beltz2007">{{Harvnb|Beltz|2007}}</ref> Other common names include "giant neotropical toad",<ref name="Easteal1985p185">{{Harvnb|Easteal|van Beurden|Floyd|Sabath|1985|p=185}}</ref> "Dominican toad",<ref name="InvasiveSpeciesInfo">{{cite web | title = Cane Toad (''Bufo marinus'') | work = National Invasive Species Information Center | publisher = [[United States Department of Agriculture]] | date = June 15, 2009 | url = https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/cane-toad | access-date = June 17, 2009}}</ref> "giant marine toad",<ref name="Caughley1996">{{Harvnb|Caughley|Gunn|1996|p=140}}</ref> and "South American cane toad".<ref name="CSIROBiodiversity">{{Harvnb|Australian State of the Environment Committee|2002|p=107}}</ref> In [[Trinidad]]ian English, they are commonly called ''crapaud'', the French word for toad.<ref name="Kenny2008">{{Harvnb|Kenny|2008|p=35}}</ref>

The genus ''Rhinella'' is considered to constitute a distinct [[genus]] of its own, thus changing the [[scientific name]] of the cane toad. In this case, the [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''marinus'' ([[Grammatical gender|masculine]]) changes to ''marina'' (feminine) to conform with the rules of gender agreement as set out by the [[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature]], changing the binomial name from ''Bufo marinus'' to ''Rhinella marina''; the binomial ''Rhinella marinus'' was subsequently introduced as a synonym through misspelling by Pramuk, Robertson, Sites, and Noonan (2008).<ref name="Frost, Darrel R. 2011"/><ref name="Pramuk, Robertson, Sites, and Noonan 2008"/> Though controversial (with many traditional herpetologists still using ''Bufo marinus'') the binomial ''Rhinella marina'' is gaining in acceptance with such bodies as the [[IUCN]],<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> [[Encyclopaedia of Life]],<ref name= "Rhinella marina eol" >{{cite web | title = ''Rhinella marina'' | publisher = Encyclopaedia of Life | url = http://eol.org/pages/333309/overview | access-date = June 4, 2012 }}</ref> Amphibian Species of the World <ref name="Frost, Darrel R. 2011"/> and increasing numbers of scientific publications adopting its usage.

Since 2016, cane toad populations native to [[Mesoamerica]] and northwestern South America are sometimes considered to be a separate species, ''[[Rhinella horribilis]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rhinella horribilis (Wiegmann, 1833) |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Rhinella/Rhinella-horribilis |website=Amphibians of the World 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Cane-toad.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A large, adult cane toad, showing the light colouration present in some specimens of the species|Light-coloured cane toad]]

In Australia, the adults may be confused with large native frogs from the genera ''[[Limnodynastes]]'', ''[[Cyclorana]]'', and ''[[Barred frogs|Mixophyes]]''. These species can be distinguished from the cane toad by the absence of large [[parotoid gland]]s behind their eyes and the lack of a ridge between the nostril and the eye.<ref name="VanderduysEric2000p1">{{Harvnb|Vanderduys|Wilson|2000|p=1}}</ref> Cane toads have been confused with the [[giant burrowing frog]] (''Heleioporus australiacus''), because both are large and warty in appearance; however, the latter can be readily distinguished from the former by its vertical pupils and its silver-grey (as opposed to gold) [[iris (anatomy)|irises]].<ref name="BurrowingFrogAustralianMuseum">{{cite web | title = Giant Burrowing Frog | work = Wildlife of Sydney | publisher = [[Australian Museum]] | date = April 15, 2009 | url = https://australian.museum/learn/animals/frogs/giant-burrowing-frog/ | access-date = June 17, 2009 }}</ref> Juvenile cane toads may be confused with species of the genus ''[[Uperoleia]]'', but their adult colleagues can be distinguished by the lack of bright colouring on the groin and thighs.<ref name="BarkerGriggTyler1995p381">{{harvnb|Barker|Grigg|Tyler|1995|p=381}}</ref>

In the United States, the cane toad closely resembles many bufonid species. In particular, it could be confused with the [[southern toad]] (''Bufo terrestris''), which can be distinguished by the presence of two bulbs in front of the parotoid glands.<ref name="BrandtMazzotti2005">{{Harvnb|Brandt|Mazzotti|2005|p=3}}</ref>

===Taxonomy and evolution===
The cane toad genome has been sequenced and certain Australian academics believe this will help in understanding how the toad can quickly evolve to adapt to new environments, the workings of its infamous toxin, and hopefully provide new options for halting this species' march across Australia and other places it has spread as an invasive pest.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Alice |last2=White |first2=Peter |last3=Shine |first3=Rick |title=We've cracked the cane toad genome, and that could help put the brakes on its invasion |url=https://theconversation.com/weve-cracked-the-cane-toad-genome-and-that-could-help-put-the-brakes-on-its-invasion-103362|work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|access-date=26 December 2018}}</ref>

Studies of the genome confirm its evolutionary origins in northern part of South America and its close genetic relation to ''[[Rhinella diptycha]]'' and other similar species of the genus.<ref name="VallinotoSequeiraSodré2010">{{cite journal | last1 = Vallinoto | first1 = Marcelo | last2 = Sequeira | first2 = Fernando | last3 = Sodré | first3 = Davidson | last4 = Bernardi | first4 = José A. R. | last5 = Sampaio | first5 = Iracilda | last6 = Schneider | first6 = Horacio |title=Phylogeny and biogeography of the ''Rhinella marina'' species complex (Amphibia, Bufonidae) revisited: implications for Neotropical diversification hypotheses|journal=[[Zoologica Scripta]]| date = March 2010 | volume = 39 | issue = 2 | pages = 128–140 | issn = 0300-3256 | eissn = 1463-6409 | doi = 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2009.00415.x | pmid = | s2cid = 84074871 | url = }}</ref> Recent studies suggest that ''R. marina'' diverged between 2.75 and 9.40 million years ago.<ref name="RiveraPratesFirneno2021">{{cite journal | last1 = Rivera | first1 = Danielle | last2 = Prates | first2 = Ivan | last3 = Firneno | first3 = Thomas J. | last4 = Trefaut Rodrigues | first4 = Miguel | last5 = Caldwell | first5 = Janalee P. | last6 = Fujita | first6 = Matthew K.|title=Phylogenomics, introgression, and demographic history of South American true toads (''Rhinella'')|journal=[[Molecular Ecology (journal)|Molecular Ecology]]| date = 16 December 2021 | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 978–992 | issn = 0962-1083 | eissn = 1365-294X | doi = 10.1111/mec.16280 | pmid = 34784086 | hdl = 2027.42/171619 | s2cid = 244131909 | url = | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

A recent split in the species into further subspecies may have occurred approximately 2.7 million years ago following the isolation of population groups by the rising [[Northern Andes|Venezuelan Andes]].<ref name="SladeMoritz1998">{{cite journal | last1 = Slade | first1 = R.W. | last2 = Moritz | first2 = C. |title=Phylogeography of ''Bufo marinus'' from its natural and introduced ranges|journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences]]| date = 7 May 1998 | volume = 265 | issue = 1398 | pages = 769–777 | issn = 0962-8452 | eissn = 1471-2954 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.1998.0359 | pmid = 9628036 | pmc = 1689048 | url = }}</ref>